Coin container



June 30, 1953 H. 1.. NEILSEN COIN CONTAINER Filed Sept. 22, 1950 INVENTOR Hilclgzyrl. Ne ilsen MM W Wat, ATTORNEYS Patented June 30, 1953 UNITED STATES ATENT' OFFICE COIN CONTAINER Hildaur L. Neilsen, MetuchcmN. J. Application September 22, 1950, Serial No. 186,168

3 Claims.

This inventionrelates to :a coin container for holding equal groups of coins in axial alignment in such a manner asto facilitate rapid counting thereof.

Where large quantities of change money :are handledit is common practice to count at certain number of coins of each denomination and wrap attack of them individual envelopes. In this way .the coins are contained in a compact package and maythereafter be transported more conveniently and counted or deposited in a bank with greater facility. Generally it is a nuisance for one to count :eachcoin and then wrap them, and of course the wrappers must be removed if accurate verification is required.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a coin container which holds a predetermined number of coins and which eliminates need for wrapping. A-iurth'erobject is to provide an easily loadable device for holding coins in stacked relationship, and which'is transparent or open along a side so that the coins can be counted without opening the container. A still further object is to provide a coin container having a plurality of compartments to subdivide a stack of coins into small equal groups for easy loading and counting, and which permits visual inspection of the money contained therein when the container is closed. Another objectis to supply a device of the type described that is inexpensive to roduce, easy to handle, and of sturdy construction to permit repeated use. Still a further object is to provide a coin container with a compartmented transparent plastic case on which is slidably mounted a curved lid useful for aiding the loading operation or wrapping of coins in a pan l" wrapper if this is desired. These and other objects will be apparent from the description which follows.

The invention accordingly comprises the features of construction, combination of elements, and arrangement of parts, which will be exemplified in the construction hereinafter set forth, and the scope of the invention willbe indicated in the claims.

For a fuller understandin of the nature and objects of the invention reference should be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a coin container with the lid half removed and partially cut away in front;

Fig, 2 is an enlarged front elevation, partially in section, of the coin container shown in Fig. 1, with the lid in place;

Fig. 3 is a view taken along line 33 of Fig. 2;

and

Fig. 4 is a perspective viewof .the lid being used as a cradle for transferring a stack of coins to a paper wrapper. V 1

Similar reference characters refer to the same lngs.

.In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, there is provided a container to hold fiftyvpennies for example, comprising a transparent plastic box, having the general shape of a right isosceles triangle in transverse section, and aslidably mounted convex .lid therefor. The inside of the box is subdivided preferably into ten compartments of equal width to hold five coins in each compartment and a narrow rail is disposed along one. longitudinal edge to cover a portionoi each compartment and prevent'coins rolling out of the box as .it'is being loaded. The lid encircles the open part of the box and fits around the outside of each edge to be retained and guided thereby, and one end is provided with stops 'to limit movement to the closed position. A small bead may also be provided to engage a dimple in the box to snap-lock the lid when closed.

A compact unit to hold fifty coins is thus provided, having a transparent box portion allowing visual inspection of the contents. Each com partment is defined by a partition on each side leaving an opening which is wider than four coins but of less Width than six, so thatno more than I five coins can be placed therein, thus preventing errors; since the stack is subdivided, counting can be accomplished by a mere glance as any group of less than live coins is readily discernible, The partitions therefore separate successive groups of coins to permit rapid counting, and they are cut away to provide easy access to any individual group.

The design of the lid makes it particularly useful as a cradle for a stack of coins, because the stack may be placed within the hollow of the lid and parcelled out when loading the box portion, or if wrapp-ingis to be done, the wrapping paper can be positioned underneath and rolled around the coins as they are held in the lid. If a cylindrical paper wrapper is employed, the lid serves as a funnel for transferring a stack of coins into the wrapper.

Accordingly, a small, handy container is provided by this invention to hold a fixed number of coins in such .fashion as to permit rapid verification.

Referring now to the drawings: an elongated transparent plastic box Ill (Fig. 1) has partitions l2 to subdivide it preferably into ten equal coin compartments it that can hold no more than five coins each. Partitions l2 have cutaway edges lfi, above which coins l8 project (as shown inbrokenlines in Fig. 3), and which, with side walls 20 and 22, create substantially right isosceles triangular sections. Partitions l2a and 12b are disposed adjacent end walls [311 and I311 respectively; and so each compartment I4 is defined by two such partitions and is displaced a substantially equal distance from the adjacent end wall or group of coins (Figs. 1 and 2). This arrangement separates coins into equal groups, causes counting to be facilitated because of such separation, and makes each group readily accessible for removal from box H].

A rail 26 along the front edge of wall 22 restrains coins from rolling out, while a generally.

similar rail 24 at the top of wall 20 serves the same purpose when box I is tilted backwards. Rails 24 and 26 in addition serve as stifieners for walls 20 and 22 respectively, and brace partitions i2.

An elongated lid 28 has flanged edges 30 and 32 to engage the exposed edges of walls 28 and 22 respectively, and a concave body portion 34 which encloses the open part of box Hl when lid 28 is in place. Stops 36 are disposed at one end to limit movement to closed position (Fig. 2), and a suitable catch or ball 38a and dimple 38]) are provided to snap-lock the lid in closed position (Fig. 1).

Preferably the side walls 28c and 2811 (Fig. 3) of lid 28 lie in planes that are at right angles. Thus when the lid is closed the container has a generally square cross section which facilitates stackin a number of the containers.

A coin container according to this invention may of course be made for any denomination by varying its dimensions. The one described is for pennies and is designed to be loaded manually, as from the loose change drawer in a cash register, to a capacity of fifty coins-the amount generally contained in paper wrappers such as used by banks. One using box I 0 with lid 28 has a handy container that is easily filled and which makes counting unnecessary, since the size of compartments l4 predetermines the number of coins that can be placed in box l0, though segregation of the stack of fifty pennies into ten groups of five each greatly facilitates counting. If box I0 is made of transparent material, or if an opening (not shown) is placed along the side, then, of course, countin is accomplished even when lid 28 is in place.

It is convenient to transport coins in box l0 and use it when storing money for safekeeping, or when distributing it to others, and individual counting of coins to verify cash received is unnecessary. However, there may be times when wrapping is desirable, in which case lid 28 is of great use, as illustrated in Fig. 4. A simple procedure is first to stackfifty coins in box Ill as explained, and then to dump the entire stack onto concave side 28a of lid 28 (when removed from box Ill) while holding the'lid with stops 36 positioned at the bottom; a paper wrapper 40 is next held near upper edge 28b of lid 28 and when the two are tilted in the opposite direction lid 28 serves as a cradle for the stack of pennies 42 and the coins slide into envelope 40 while maintaining their stacked relationship. This procedure is particularly efiicient because handling and counting of coins are minimized during wrapping.

Dispensing of coins from box I0 is also greatly facilitated by lid 28. It is seldom necessary or desirable, in making change, to dispense more than four coins. For example, if it is desired to dispense three coins, the box may be held in approximately the Figure 1 position with the left end higher than the right and lid 28 slid back until three coins are exposed. The box may then be rotated about its axis and the desired number of coins will drop out. The lid may then be closed and the remaining coins are locked in the box.

4 There is thus provided by this invention a sturdy, inexpensive coin box that attains the several objects hereinabove in thoroughly practical and efficient manner.

Since certain changes may be made in the above embodiment and difierent embodiments of the invention could be made without departing from the scope hereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having described the invention, claimed as new is:

1. A coin container comprising, in combination, an elongated body portion having a pair only of flat sides at least one of which is formed of transparent material, said sides being secured together and extending from one another with one side forming the bottom of said container what is and the other the rear wall thereof, the widthof said walls substantially equalling the diameter of the coin to be contained whereby when said container is resting on its bottom its body portion is freely accessible for insertion or re-' moval of coins in planes lying at right angles to one another, a plurality of partitions in said body portion subdividing it into coin receiving compartments, and a lid slidably mounted on said body portion.

2. A coin container comprising, in combination, an elongated body portion having a pair only of flat sides at least one of which is formed of transparent material, said sides being secured together and extending from one another in planes lying at right. angles to one another, a plurality of partitions in said body portion subdividing it into coin receiving compartments, and a lid slidably mounted on said body portion, said lid being generally convex and including flanges respectively at its edges to engage portions of said body portion sides so that the lid when in closed position is retained therein, the radius of convexity of said lid being substantially the same as that of the coin to be contained.

3. A coin container comprising, in combination, an elongated body portion having a pair only of fiat sides at least one of which is formed of transparent material, said sides being secured together and extending from one another in planes lying at right angles to one another, a plurality of partitions in said body portion subdividing it into coin receiving compartments, a rail secured to one of said sidesnand extending outwardly therefrom to preclude coins rolling out of said body portion when said container is resting on said last-mentioned side, and a lid slidably mounted on said body .portion.

HILDAUR. L. NEILSEN.

References Cited in the fileof this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 611,136 Mason Sept. 20, 1898 716,223 Hall Dec. 16, 1902 1,139,604 Vogel May 18, 1915 2,410,161 Helbein Oct. 29, 1946 2,482,869 Polglase et al. i Sept. 27, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date I 19,084 Great Britain Mar. 19, 1903 592,717 Great Britain Sept. 26, 1947 

